J.H. Williams III and W. Haden Blackman crafted a visually stunning exploration of a constantly shifting fantasy world in Echoland’s debut issue.
After fifteen years of working on and off together while juggling numerous other projects, J.H. Williams III and W. Haden Blackman- — who worked together on DC’s New 52 Batwoman series — are finally teaming up with Image Comics to co-create their own original fantasy series. Releasing on Aug. 25, Echolands #1 introduces readers to an expansive world that’s jam-packed with allusions to other stories while also being a remarkably memorable issue.
Echolands #1 follows a young woman named Hope on the run from the police. She’s employed by the nefarious wizard Teros Demond after stealing something of great importance. She makes her way through a crowded, dystopian version of San Francisco, weaving between every type of character imaginable, and down mysterious alleys in a city that seems to be constantly rearranging itself. She is aided by her friend Cor, who helps her evade capture, for the time being, but everything in this world appears to be able to change at a moment’s notice.
W. Haden Blackman and J.H. Williams III share the writing duties on this fast-paced first issue. While the story leaves little time for dialogue, it nevertheless introduces an incredibly well-developed world. The two authors juggle a ton of moving parts without dividing the reader’s attention. From the shifting nature of the city that Hope is running through to the mysterious wizard Deros Demond, almost every panel introduces new concepts and questions. While much is left unexplained at the end of the first issue, it is clear that Blackman and Williams III are working with a universe that feels at once utterly foreign and remarkably real. The breakneck pace of Echolands #1 doesn’t give audiences much information about Hope’s inner life, but her carefree, adventurous spirit shines through every line of dialogue. Much like the world that she lives in, it is clear that her character is fully formed.
J.H. Williams III has worked with comics luminaries like Alan Moore on Promethea and Neil Gaiman on Sandman: Overture, but Echolands #1 is his best work yet. Presented in an untraditional landscape format, the pages read like psychedelic reinterpretations of ancient scrolls. The long horizontal two-page spreads adds to the comic’s sprawling landscape. But, Williams III’s crowd scenes steal the show. Almost every character is visually distinct. In fact, many characters in the crowd scenes are drawn and colored in contrasting styles. While Dave Stewart colors a majority of the characters and backgrounds in a vibrant but fairly standard manner, some figures appear to be painted or rendered entirely in black and white. The juxtaposition of different visual styles goes hand in hand with the world’s unstable architecture and its chaotic action scenes that spills into panels with a larger-than-life attitude.
Hope runs through the comic looking suspiciously like Red Riding Hood. While the obsessively detailed artwork provides an exhaustive number of allusions to other myths and legends, there’s nothing derivative about Echolands #1. The comic subverts expectations at every turn while building an ever-expanding world. J.H. Williams III and W. Haden Blackman have constructed a magical world for their charming characters in Echolands.
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